Floss holder for dental use



Jan, 16, 1923.

L. C. BALL.

FLOSS HOLDER FOR DENTAL USE.

FILED JAN. 26,1922- patented Jan. 16, 1923..

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LOUISE o. BALL, on NEW YORK, N. Y.

FLOSS HOLDER FOR DENTAL USE.

Application filed January 26, 1922. Serial No. 531,861.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, LOUISE C. BALL, citizen of the United States, and resident of New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Floss Holders for Dental Use, of which the followingis a specification.

My invention relates to a flosseur that is, a device or tool to contain and manipulate floss silk for dental use.

One of its objects is to utilize the common transparent glass pill bottle as a holder for a spool of floss silk prepared for use in cleaning the teeth.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a vertical elevation, partly in section of my invention.

Fig. 2 is aside elevation of Fig. 1, from its right hand side with parts in section.

Fig. 3 shows a modification.

The drawings show my invention upon an enlarged scale.

The usual pill bottle 3 having screw threads at its top is provided with a cap or closure 4 having screw threads loosely fitting it. The looseness permits the thread of floss silk 5 to be drawn out between the cap and bottle, and when a length has been drawn out the cap may be'tightened thus firmly holding the floss from being pulled out any further. By slightly unscrewing the cap the silk is again released so that another length may be drawn out.

The bottle or cap is also provided with arms 6 and 7 having top and side slots 8, 9, 10, 11. The latter two hold the portion 12 of the. floss taut, the other end being held firmly by the screw cap, the slots 8 and 9 may if desired be used to assist.

After using, the thread is caught under the upturned tongue 13, punched, if desired, from the material of the cap itself, and with a twitch the used silk is cut off with an end left in reach to get hold of for the next use of the flosseur.

In Fig. 3 a rod 14 may be screwed into a rubber or cork stopper or closure 15 which may be loosened to withdraw silk and tightened to secure it. It may be split at 16 to provide integrally formed V-shaped arms 17 and 18 similar to those in Figs. 1 and 2.

The arms shown in Figs. 1 and 2 may be welded to the cap as indicated by the fillet at 19 formed of metal upset during welding. Resistance or contact welding may be employed, one part pressed against the other with a current connected that immediately fuses them together. In this case the screw ma be omitted.

r the arms may be attached to the cap or bottle in any other suitable way.

The transparent glass shows the amount of silk 1n the receptacle, is naturally clean, and more attractive. Its use enables the owner to know When a new spool is needed before the old one is actually used up.

Many other variations lie within the scope of my invention, and some of its features may be used without others, or may be varied without departing from its spirit.

What I claim is I 1. A floss holder comprising an elongated receptacle to receive a bobbin or winding of floss silk; a U-shaped holder having two inclined arms constructed to carry portions of said silk for use, and a closure carrying sald U-shaped holder fitted to and across one end of said receptacle to close it after inserting the floss, having smooth joining means to permit a length of said silk to be drawn out without abrasion and adapted to be tightened to bind one end of said length and hold it taut; the end of one of said U-shaped arms of said holder having binding means for holding the other end of said length of silk taut for use; and the other of said arms acting as a support, between the. closure binding means and said arm binding means to support said length of floss in position diagonal to the long axis of said receptacle.

2. The combination claimed in claim 1, having for said receptacle a glass pill or tablet bottle having rounded threads, and 1 for said closure and closure binding means, a thin metal cap with rounded spun threads. 3. The combination claimed in claim 1, having for said receptacle a glass pill or tablet bottlehaving rounded threads, and for said closure and closure binding means, a thin metal cap with rounded spun threads; and having a portion of said metal struck up to form a cut ofl catch for said floss.

LOUISE C. BALL. 

